I’m a junior and have a question for someone who’s been to either or both campuses:
I’m going to Pennsylvania soon and will have the opportunity to visit a college during my stay. I’ve been considering both Harverford and Swarthmore, and at this point, my likelihood of attending either college (if accepted) is equal, and relatively high for each, based on the academics, costs, etc. Haverford is closer to where I’ll be staying so I was thinking of visiting there, but I could honestly visit either easily. Could someone who knows what the campuses are like let me know which one I should visit? Which one would be more impactful on my eventual decision? If you have an opinion, which one should I have a preference for?
As a little background, I am planning on majoring in astronomy, physics, or astrophysics; I intend to get involved in research in college; I’m a political moderate but college political leanings aren’t much of a concern; I’m a bit of a nerd.
Why would you have to pick? I think there is an obvious answer here: visit both! They are extremely close to each other and you could easily visit both in one day.
I lived in Swarthmore for many years. It’s a terrific campus but it has a very different feel from Haverford. Of course the schools are in consortium agreement so you can take courses at either school if you enroll in one.
Additionally, both schools are part of a larger astronomy-related consortium. “The Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium comprises astronomy faculty and students at eight small liberal arts colleges and universities in the northeast. Our goals are to promote astronomy research among our students and to foster faculty and student interaction among the eight campuses. We sponsor a student exchange program each summer and a student research symposium each fall.”
Swat has an observatory they open to the students and community. “There is a telescope open house each month. It is on the second Tuesday of the month and is held from 8 to 9 PM when it is Standard Time and from 9 to 10 PM when it is Daylight Savings Time.” We hold these open houses at the new Peter van de Kamp Observatory on the roof of the Science Center. I assume if you are part of the department, you have greater access.
However, I would check with Admissions. Do they consider a campus visit “designated interest”? Is this an official tour or just self-guided? Does either have interviews which you could coordinate as well?
I agree that you should try to see both. They are (at most) 1/2 hour away from each other. Swarthmore is just off the highway. Perhaps, have an official at one and and unofficial drive by the other?
Haverford is hidden by woods all around and a flat running trail. Swarthmore has the actual train to Philly running right through the campus. Swat has steeper walking trails too because the school is built on a hill and ledge so the trails are on the back side of the school.
I don’t think you can go wrong with either school. My sons each visited both schools. If at all possible schedule an interview while you are there. Interviews are important at both schools. Swarthmore and Haverford have different vibes. The Honor Code is a very important part of Haverford and I sense it has a greater connection to it’s Quaker heritage. Haverford also has a very close relationship with Bryn Mawr (1 mile apart and a regular shuttle.) So, you can easily take courses at either school. One of my sons chose to attend Swarthmore. Swarthmore is more intense and very focused on academics. Both schools have excellent science programs, but I don’t know a lot about the astronomy/ physics programs.
Ok, thanks everyone! Since everyone said I should try to visit both, I talked to my mom and we were able to schedule visits to each during the 1st half of the day, which was the window of time that I had available. I’ll keep everything you all said in mind when visiting m. Again, thanks!
Update: I just came back from my trip, where I visited both colleges. I loved both a lot, but the intellectual atmosphere, the seminar-based honors program, and the campus in general made Swarthmore my favorite. Thanks for all your help!
Great choice–cheers to your mom for making the right call.
Best of luck to you. I’m a big fan of both schools, and though they might seem quite similar on the surface (or in the big picture as compared to other schools), they’re actually very, very distinct in culture and “feel.”